One nation under God

When I was a kid I was taught the pledge of allegiance. It was explained to me that some ideas are so important that it is good to repeat them by rote. Each day before school we stood before the flag and put our hands on our ribs, saying the pledge:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag, and to the republic for which it stands,"

This statement is deceptive in that it claims unconditional allegiance is patriotism, but actually it is serfdom.

"One nation under God,"

Like the Arab states the land contained inside our arbitrary political borders is of course favored by God. This means that we, as a nation, are justified when we commit atrocities - as long as we do it for our country!

"Indivisible"

How horrible. Taken literally this means no person can ever opt out of being part of the country. And indeed this is what is meant: no secession. In all matters the Federal government is supreme, since they have the most guns and the majority of people are cowards.

"With liberty and justice for all"

That is, unless you are an immigrant, or want to fly on an airplane, or want to ingest a drug, or don't want to pay tax. Or are jailed indefinitely for being a "person of interest" except except except except

Vain repetition is dangerous. Do not support any institution that contradicts your values. This holiday, don't say the pledge. Not even a version modified to remove 'god' from it. Don't take off your hat. Don't stand in respect.

If we are virtuous we must love because of what is, not what some say it is.

Repeating the lies in the pledge help no one and harm everyone by encouraging complacency.

You need to be a member of Atheist Nexus to add comments!

Tom......I guess we should agree to disagree.....as far as Ruth Bader Ginsburg is concerned I would have to read the South African Constitution before I make a judgement like you inferred..I bet their constitution was modeled after ours...if that is the case it may have even been improved...We therefore could be flattered by that.. If so why should I say should she move there, she may be very pleased that another country is following in our footsteps...As far as the liberated countries of Europe, we should also be pleased that they are on the right track....With that said can these countries protect themselves from an outside influence like Russia. I fear not....Living in the US provides us with the best military in the world so I will take my chances here....You shouldn't be so quick to write the US off Tom....We as Americans have a lot to be ashamed of but I still strongly believe the good we do out ways the bad by a large margin....just saying....

Freethinker31, you appear unwilling to compare the reality with the promise.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg compared the 227-year-old US Constitution with the more recent South African Constitution and said she would model a new one after the South African one. Will you invite her to move to South Africa?

Decades ago I compared the US Constitution with the then-draft European Charter of Rights and found that people in the nations that America liberated from the Nazis have more rights than Americans.

Well Cenek if America is so bad no one is forcing you to Iive here....If you feel Latvia, China and Korea is better I am sure they will welcome you with open arms...You say the majority of the planet enjoys the freedoms that Americans have...Are you serious???? America may be going through a rough patch with the Tea Party and the worst Congress ever. but that is temporary and we will eventually elect better candidates....I bet most people in these Other countries would love to live in America if they were given a chance..I feel blessed to live here...and would not want to live anywhere else...

By what measure is America the greatest? Sir, respectfully I think you should examine the facts. The majority of the planet enjoys the freedom that we do [1]. We have a lower education rating than Latvia, China, and Korea, (we're #28) [2]. One of the highest religiosity of any western country [3].

America is #1 at something... we have initiated more violence in the 20th century than any other country and have the highest military spending. Are we greatest only by right of threat of violence?

I still believe the USA is the greatest country on Earth....Where else can people knock their country and castigate those in office who will one day be out of office, and get away with it.....Sure some administrations have made horrible decisions like going to war when i t was not in our interest or the shameful use of Slaves and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII.......But we as Americans always persevere and in the end America remains the greatest nation on Earth....When wrongs are made we as Americans try to make them right...no matter how long it takes.......So if you are unhappy with something in this great Nation you have the vote and the right to assemble in protest......to change things.....

Tom, I was refering to public schools. That's the only type of schools that I attended. My church at that time (a fundy Pentecostal one) preached "they are trying to take prayer out of our schools" and they certainly were not talking about any private schools. My point was, I do not remember prayer ever being in my school. I never knew anyone that went to a private school, but if they were Catholic and did go to private school, I would have assumed that they prayed.

I'm talking 1956 to 1964 here. Even before and after those dates I simply do not recall school prayer. What the ACLU was doing in those days, I do not know. Apparently what the fundy Pentecostal minister was doing was lying. He was taking a statement and asserting it as fact just to stir people up.

I have trouble because I know of the democratically elected governments "my country" has violently overthrown -- where we installed tyrants and trained those tyrants' secret police in how to frighten their citizens into obedience.

I have trouble too because I know that the promised freedom and justice for all does not exist.

Politically active people in America -- including environmentalists -- learn these words: In this land of the free and home of the brave, people who want to be free have to be brave.

First, the claim "they are trying to take prayer out of our schools" is both silly and untrue.

It's silly because we know that any schoolkid who wants to pray can do so at any time, such as before an exam, after an exam, or instead of doing an exam.

The claim is untrue because it omits a term such as "officially sanctioned". We do want to take mandated or involuntary prayer out of publicly funded schools.

And second, your "...but I am 68 years old and do not ever recall that prayer was in our schools."

The schools you attended might not have had mandated prayer while you were in them, but might have them now. If they do, it's because attempts by individual teachers or administrators to impose prayer on students continue. The newsletters of the ACLU and other organizations tell of such attempts and of efforts -- letters first, and maybe lawsuits -- to reverse those attempts.

My only comment with the Pledge of Allegiance is the "under god" it is so unfair to Non Believers....I have no problem pledging my allegiance to my country which I love...If you take it so literally sure you can disagree but it is meant to show that citizens love their freedom and justice for all....